Last Updated on May 26, 2020, 9:34 PM AST by Anthony Morris
As several cruise ships are still stranded at sea with hundreds of crew members on board these vessels, Barbados has been a haven of such a ship despite concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It has been reported that around 370 Royal Caribbean employees who were quarantined at the sea since March 16 had been permitted to leave their ship on Sunday after they sailed to Barbados from The Bahamas several days ago.
The crew members of the vessel disembarked from the ship with smiles on their faces and laughing as with this; they started the long process of returning back to their homes.
Many of these crew members were forced to wait for up to five hours at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados while they were going through health and security screenings and immigration.
The line of Royal Caribbean employees was all throughout the airport, with persons sitting on the benches, their luggage and even on the floor as they were waiting to board the rescue flight which had been arranged by the British Airways and the local authorities.
An unnamed crew member on the ship said that in the beginning, it was not a lot of information and that he does not think that anybody knew because the rules kept changing. Nobody had any idea about what to do or what was happening.
Employees said that living on a ship without guests was no fun and not at all close to normal, but they had Wi-Fi to help them get through since everything onboard had been closed.
Last week, Royal Caribbean executives had confirmed the company would extend the temporary suspension of global cruise operations through July 31, except for its China business.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
